Titans ready for ‘Toughest Challenge in the Championship’

Posted on Mar 22, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, Rotherham Titans

Rotherham Titans are ready for what head coach Andre Bester believes is the “Toughest Challenge in the Championship,” when they travel to Cornwall to face Cornish Pirates on Sunday, kick-off 3pm at the Mennaye Field.

Following Titans impressive 20-3 victory away to Leeds Carnegie last week, the Clifton Lane outfit are ready to give their all as they chase a semi-final berth in the promotion play-offs.

The only change to Andre Bester’s 22 sees Neale Patrick come in at lock forward for injured skipper Sam Dickinson. Dickinson’s season was ended prematurely in last week victory at Headingley after sustaining a broken arm.

With just 5 victories from a previous 18 encounters, Titans Andre Bester is under no illusions as to the difficulty of the challenge that lies ahead for his troops. Bester said, “I think most clubs in the Championship would agree that the toughest assignment in the division is away to Cornish Pirates. However, we have always believed our application in what we do and we are playing better and better every week. We are focused on what we have to do in the play-offs and making sure that we do the little things well.

“We are probably a little bit unlucky not be at the top with Bedford right now, but as long as we learn, we know we can compete with the top clubs in the division.

“We know Leeds probably had an off day last week, but we also know that Pirates at home won’t have an off-day. Therefore we know it will be a much closer game and if we are going to win down there, it will be very close.

“But we also know that we can back ourselves and believe in ourselves. We need to go down there and go and apply what we believe in and the result will look after itself. It’s not an insurmountable challenge and life without a challenge is a life that’s not worth living. Our challenge is to go down there and turn them over.”

Rotherham Titans: 15 Tom Foden, 14 Stephen Hamilton, 13 Dave McCall, 12 Pale Nonu, 11 Shane Monahan, 10 Garry Law, 9 Jimmy Williams, 1 Shane Cahill, 2 Dan Baines, 3 Ben Hooper, 4 Neale Patrick, 5 Barney Maddison, 6 Robin Copeland, 7 Sean Dougall (Capt.), 8 Semisi Taulava.

Replacements: 16 Ted Stagg, 17 Jamie Kilbane, 18 Talite Vaioleti, 19 Adrian Griffiths, 20 Carl Kirwan, 21 Matt Rhodes, 22 Peter Homan.

RFU Podcast: Six Nations reflection for England teams

Posted on Mar 22, 2012 in England, English Rugby, RFU Podcast

With four wins from five games, Robshaw cuts a happy figure: “Hugely honoured doesn’t even cover it to be honest.,” he said. “I’m just extremely proud, we have a great group of lads and hopefully we can take this English team forward. The crowds for both home fixtures have been outstanding and it was nice to pay them back with a win against Ireland.

“The coaching staff have been superb throughout the campaign and I think that we’ve shown that we want to go out there and win for them.”

Lancaster, whose interim contact expires on March 31, added: “My role was always to take over the job for the Six Nations and it was all about building foundations, but how it unfolds from now is out of my control.”

Also in this week’s podcast:

• Burns on fire: Gloucester ace Freddie burns on being named Aviva Premiership player of the month and his England aspirations
• Hunting for success: England Under 20 head coach Rob Hunter reflects on another Six Nations title while looking ahead to the Junior World Championship in South Africa this June
• Sevens heaven: England Sevens pair Charlie Walker and Dan Norton look ahead to the Hong Kong Sevens
• Street’s ahead: As the England Women collect their seventh successive Six Nations title – this time without conceding a try – we hear from head coach Gary Street

London Scottish Travel to Plymouth For Friday Night Survival Clash

Posted on Mar 22, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, London Scottish

London Scottish travel to Plymouth Albion aiming to make it three wins from three and take a huge leap towards securing survival in the RFU Championship.

The 23-20 win over Moseley confirmed Scottish at the top of the Relegation Pool, and go into the double header with Plymouth full of confidence. The sharp turn around from Sunday’s game going into the Friday night fixture has seen changes in the squad in both the backs and the pack.

Double try scorer against Moseley Gerard Mullen retains his place with Agustin Gosio and Stuart Peel in the back three and the centre partnership of Westren and Hayter continue.

Half backs James Brown and Matt Heeks come in for Dan Mugford and Simon Amor.

In the pack, three changes see Ben Lonergan, Steve Pape and Matthew Johnson step up into the starting XV.

London Scottish face Plymouth Albion in the return fixture nine days later at the Athletic Ground, Sunday 1st April, 2pm kick off.

London Scottish side to face Plymouth Albion, Friday 23rd March kick off 7.45pm, Brickfields

15 Stuart Peel

14 Agustin Gosio

13 Ryan Westren

12 Charlie Hayter

11 Gerard Mullen

10 James Brown

9 Matt Heeks

8 Mark Bright

7 Ben Lonergan

6 Adam Kleeberger

5 Josh Thomas Brown

4 Steve Pape

3 Aaron Liffchak

2 Adam Kwasnicki

1 Matthew Johnson

16 Ollie Hayes

17 Alexander MacKenzie

18 Alexander Karonias

19 Ben Thomas

20 James Kellard

21 Jamie Stevenson

22 Oli Grove

Albion looking to make it two wins out of two

Posted on Mar 22, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, Plymouth Albion

Plymouth Albion will be hoping to make it two wins in a row in the Championship play-offs when they entertain London Scottish at Brickfields tomorrow night (kick-off 7.45).

Albion boosted their hopes of staying in the Championship with a 18-11 win over Esher at Brickfields last Friday.

Head coach Nat Saumi is keen for his team to build on that victory, which ended a run of five losses for Albion.

Saumi is able to name the same starting XV for tomorrow’s game against a Scottish side who have won their opening two play-off matches.

However, there are changes on Albion bench, with Luke Cowan-Dickie returning from England Under-20 duty and Steve Johns and Davy McGregor coming back into the squad.

Johns was Albion’s hero when Albion last hosted Scottish at Brickfields. He scored a last-gasp try to help his side to a 29-25 win.

Both regular league matches between the two sides were close with Scottish winning 21-17 on their home patch.

Admission tomorrow starts at £14 for adults with under-16s getting into the ground free if accompanied by an adult.

Albion:

15 Sione Tu’ipulotu, 14 James Love, 13 Paul Bailey, 12 Bevon Armitage, 11 Tyson Lewis, 10 Paul Roberts, 9 Ruairi Cushion, 1 David Morton, 2 Jon Vickers, 3 Rob Dugard, 4 Tyler Hotson, 5 Sean-Michael Stephen (capt), 6 Herbie Stupple, 7 Wayne Sprangle, 8 Aaron Carpenter. Reps not used: Mark Lee, Steve Johns, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Addison Lockley, Davy McGregor, Sam Hocking, Gareth Evans.

Exiles’ Beach only has eyes for Doncaster

Posted on Mar 22, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, London Welsh

London Welsh’s draw away to Championship favourites and play-off Pool A rivals Bristol may have teed up the sides’ return meeting at Old Deer Park on April 15, but Exiles flanker Lee Beach is refusing to look beyond Doncaster.

Welsh welcome the Knights to Old Deer Park on Saturday (kick-off 2:30pm), with the Exiles having come within a last gasp Matthew Jones penalty of leaving the Memorial Stadium with all four points tucked neatly under their arm, before the following weekend making the return trip to Castle Park.

Three Alex Davies penalties and a Gordon Ross drop goal looked like they might be enough to give Welsh victory on Sunday, only for Jones to strike late and ensure a 12-12 draw.

Doncaster, meanwhile, are still searching for their first points, having conceding 95 points in their opening two Pool A games against Bristol and Nottingham.

However, Beach, a veteran of Welsh’s Championship semi-final defeats at the hands of Bristol in 2010 and the Cornish Pirates last year, is adamant that Exiles will be taking nothing for granted.

“We have two games against Doncaster which are not going to easy,” said Beach, who captained Wales to World Cup Sevens glory in 2009. “They’ll be looking to just go out and play and that makes them very dangerous.

“As a squad we’ve got to think about Doncaster home and away, and then we’ll think about Bristol after that.

“Doncaster will be coming down to try and upset the applecart and if they can do that it’ll be a big plus for them.

“We can’t think about the Bristol score and the Nottingham score – we’ve just got to get our own house in order.”

Sunday’s draw ensured the status quo at the top of Pool A, with the Exiles still trailing Bristol by a point. It was a result, though, that left Beach and his team-mates with mixed emotions, particularly in light of Welsh’s narrow defeat at the Memorial Stadium earlier in the season.

“It was a game we should have won. Going to Bristol and coming away with a draw isn’t a bad result, but the game was well within our reach,” he said.

“But there were a lot of positives; we’d worked hard through the week on certain weaknesses in our game and we put them right against Bristol. There’s still lots to work on, but it’s very positive at the moment.”

One such positive so far in the play-offs has been the Welsh defence. Not content with having kept Nottingham to a solitary James Arlidge penalty during the consecutive sin-binnings of Davies and Ross a week earlier, the Exiles kept their tryline in tact against a Bristol side which had run in nine tries in their 65-3 win over Doncaster.

“Defensively we’re getting better; we’re still giving away one or two penalties at the ruck, but that’s easily fixed,” said Beach.

“Our contact area is also getting much better and that’s one area we needed to improve on and are improving on. Bristol was a big step forward for us.

“Twice they broke out and looked dangerous, but we handled them pretty well in terms of our scramble defence.

“What we did do, which was also a massive positive, was give Bristol no time, cutting down their space. We frustrated them.

“Maybe our attacking game wasn’t quite where it should have been, but Bristol defended well and didn’t really give us the opportunities. The ones we did create we should maybe have finished.”

While Sunday’s offering may not have delivered the free flowing rugby served up by the two sides on the same ground in October, it was no less compelling. Not least in the scrums which developed into fascinating power struggle.

An area of weaknesses for Welsh earlier in the season, the Exiles have enlisted the help of England’s Women’s assistant coach Graham Smith.

The fruits of the work put in on the training pitch were clear for all to see at the Memorial Stadium on Sunday, with head coach Lyn Jones keen to “break all barriers and create a positive scrum game in the Championship”. Jones sees Smith as being instrumental in this.

“The past couple of weeks Graham’s come in and he’s really broken it all down, and he’s been doing one to ones with the front row,” said Beach.

“We knew the challenge going into the game with Bristol and it was a big mindset for us to get the scrum sorted, and we were very pleased with how it went.”

Bristol was also a performance that owed something to the memory of the late Mervyn Davies – preceded as it was by an impeccably observed minute’s silence at the Memorial Stadium.

Indeed, the great man had been guest of honour at the club’s end of season awards night at Old Deer Park, just under than a year ago.

“It was in the back of our minds, especially the Welsh boys and those of us who were at the club’s awards night with him last year,” said Beach,

“He was a legend for what he did for Wales, the Lions and London Welsh. He was very nice man, very down to earth.”

Sunday’s performance was a fitting tribute and Beach firmly believes that this London Welsh side has what it takes to emulate its predecessors in taking the club to a third consecutive Championship semi-final, and maybe even beyond.

“Bristol are the best team in the league, they finished top, but we played well against them,” he said.

“Deep down we felt gutted that we didn’t come away with a win. Our performance wasn’t great, but we still held them.

“I’d like to think we can get to the final with the squad of players we’ve got – everyone’s singing off the same hymn sheet. I think we can keep building and progress.”

Birthday boy Norton wants Hong Kong present

Posted on Mar 22, 2012 in England Sevens, English Rugby

Dan Norton has scored 23 tries for England Sevens this season

Wing Dan Norton can celebrate his birthday by passing a new landmark for England and going to the top of the try-scoring charts in the HSBC Sevens World Series.

The former Gloucester and Bristol paceman is 24 tomorrow (Thursday, March 22) on the eve of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.

His next and 72nd career try will take him past former captain Simon Amor into fourth place on England’s all-time list behind Ben Gollings (220), Richard Haughton (106) and Rob Thirlby (101).

Five more would see him overtake injured New Zealander Frank Halai – who misses the next two tournaments through injury – as the leading scorer on the World Series.

But the birthday present he really wants for England to lift the Hong Kong title after missing out in last season’s final.

“I’d just like us to win regardless of anything else – I just want to win the tournament,” said Norton.

“It’d be a nice present on Sunday evening if we’re standing on top with the cup. I can’t really ask for anything more than that. We’ve hit a final and a semi final here in the last two years and now we want to go one step further.”

The three-day, 12-team tournament sees England play Argentina (12:30 GMT) on Friday, March 23, and Kenya (03:20) and Samoa (11:30) on Saturday, March 24 before the following day’s knock-out stages.

The Hong Kong format is different to the series’ usual 16-team programme – a second 12-team competition takes place in Hong Kong this year to promote three new ‘core’ teams into the global event – which means no straightforward pool games.

In the build-up, England have worked hard on their fitness since defeats against New Zealand and Argentina in Las Vegas last month – and on their approach to the detail of winning big games.

“We’ve worked over the last four or five weeks to better our fitness levels. There’s been more running, more gym work and more out-of-hours training to get those levels back up to the top,” said Norton.

“We’ve maybe lacked a bit of clarity in what we’re doing on the field and we’re being more thorough in meetings, revising what we’ve learned and trying to get as much information out of each other as we can. It’s about turning over every stone and making sure we are thorough in our processes.

“Regardless of who you’re playing – whether it’s a core team or not – we’ve just got to go out and execute our game plan properly and if we do that we can win. The times we’ve lost, we haven’t stuck to that plan 100 per cent like we should have.

“Argentina got one over us in Vegas so this is a chance to turn the tables on them, although every group is going to be very hard with the set-up of the tournament. It’ll certainly be good for the neutral!

“We know what we’ve got to do and that’s to win six games if we want to win Hong Kong, regardless of who we’re facing.”

Andrew Cosslett appointed as Chairman England Rugby 2015

Posted on Mar 21, 2012 in England, England 2015, English Rugby, IRB

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) today announced the appointment of Andrew Cosslett as Chairman England Rugby 2015 (ER 2015). Cosslett, the former Chief Executive Officer of InterContinental Hotels Group plc, who has held the post of Interim Chairman, takes up the role in April 2012.

After a comprehensive selection process, Cosslett was chosen for his international business experience and leadership skills built over 30 years in consumer facing industries. In addition to his role as Chief Executive Officer of InterContinental Hotels Group, between 2005-2011, Cosslett was a Board member of the Executive Committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council, a member of the President’s Committee of the Confederation of British Industry and a Board member of the International Tourism Partnership.

Before this Cosslett spent 14 years with Cadbury Schweppes in roles including: Chairman, Australia; Chief Executive, Asia Pacific; Managing Director, Great Britain and Ireland and President, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Cosslett, together with Paul Vaughan, Chief Executive Officer ER 2015, will lead the ER 2015 Board which includes: RFU Chief Executive Officer, Ian Ritchie; RFU Chief Financial Officer, Stephen Brown; Professional Game Board Chairman, Ian Metcalfe; Injured Players Foundation Chairman and former RFU President, John Owen; RFU Council member and Chairman of the Championship Clubs Geoff Irvine and Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office and the Government’s Chief Operating Officer, Ian Watmore.

Ian Ritchie, Chief Executive Officer Rugby Football Union, said, “Andy Cosslett’s attributes and experience will no doubt bring huge benefits to the role of England Rugby 2015 Chairman. The Rugby World Cup in England provides a unique and very exciting opportunity and we look forward to working closely with Andy, England Rugby 2015 and Rugby World Cup Limited to help create a legacy that will benefit the sport for generations to come.”

Andrew Cosslett, newly appointed Chairman England Rugby 2015, added, “I am passionate about the game and delighted to be able to play my part in delivering Rugby World Cup 2015.  England 2015 is a great challenge but a tremendous opportunity and I look forward to working with Paul Vaughan, England Rugby 2015, the Rugby Football Union and Rugby World Cup Limited to deliver what we intend to be the best Rugby World Cup yet.”

Bernard Lapasset, Chairman of Rugby World Cup Limited, commented: “Rugby World Cup Limited welcomes this key appointment which represents an important step in the delivery of Rugby World Cup 2015. The successful delivery of one of the world’s largest sporting events is founded on partnership, teamwork, vision and strong leadership. Andy certainly possesses all the necessary attributes to oversee the delivery of what promises to be a special tournament. We are looking forward to continuing to work in partnership with Andy, Paul Vaughan and the England Rugby 2015 team to deliver an outstanding Rugby World Cup in 2015.”

Paul Vaughan, Chief Executive Officer England Rugby 2015 added, “I am sure Andy Cosslett will make a great Chairman for England Rugby 2015. The international business and marketing skills that he brings to the Board will continue to be invaluable in his new role as Chairman. He has great empathy with the game and I think we will make a great team.”

RFU launches online Coaching Academy for every level of game

Posted on Mar 21, 2012 in England, English Rugby, RFU

England’s 50,000 qualified coaches have an extensive new resource to use following the launch of the online RFU Coaching Academy.

Developed with British & Irish Lions head coach Sir Ian McGeechan and actively endorsed by England’s senior coaches, the RFU Coaching Academy www.rfuca.com provides support for those coaching every level of the game – from children picking up a ball for the first time to the highest echelons of the adult game.

It contains all the materials for the RFU’s three major qualification courses, more than 40 Continuous Personal Development (CPD) modules, foundation units for junior rugby, and an archive of technical material, all supported with rich online video content.

Knowledge exchange is at the heart of the Academy which means the expertise of the RFU’s Sports Science, Medical and Coaching departments is being shared with the game – a holistic approach that adds information about medicine, nutrition and lifestyle to the technical and tactical core.

The online platform also allows coaches to plan and manage their own sessions and enables the Coaching Academy team to respond quickly by sharing the latest innovations with an active online community.

“Supporting and developing our 50,000 coaches will create better and more enjoyable game for everyone at every level,” said Gary Henderson, the RFU’s Head of Game Development.

“Our objective is to improve the expertise of our coaches at all levels nationally by complementing our face-to-face programmes with value added content and advice via the internet. We believe the resources they can now access will greatly improve their performance.

“Hosting the next Rugby World Cup offers a tremendous opportunity for the continued long-term growth of our sport. We want to make sure rugby is ready for 2015 and the Coaching Academy will play an important role in achieving that goal.”

The RFU is working in partnership with Global Sports Coaching and its www.rugbycoachingdrills.com website. Following a pilot scheme and regional trials the 50,000 RFU qualified coaches and United Kingdom Coaching Certificate holders registered on RugbyFirst have now been invited to access the site.

The Coaching Academy resources also underpin the free RFU Coach Licensing programme being rolled out nationally next season.

Maintaining licensed status gives access to a wealth of resources and the only requirement is for coaches to complete three CPD modules over a three-year period.

“We’ve been investigating the potential for a coach licensing process over the last two seasons regionally and the feedback we’ve had has been positive and constructive,” said Henderson.

“One of the reasons for that is the development of more than 40 CPD modules to help grow expertise of coaches in specific areas and being able to promote and share that online in the Coaching Academy enhances a very positive process.”

Ireland Schools Squad Announced For European Championship

Posted on Mar 21, 2012 in Ireland, Ireland Schools, Irish Rugby

The Ireland U-18 Schools Squad, sponsored by PWC, has been named for the upcoming European U-18 Championship in Spain (March 29th to April 8th)

The Ireland U-18 Schools will warm up for their defence of the FIRA/AER European title with a pre tournament friendly against Scotland in Coolmine RFC on Sunday, March 25th, k.o. 12 noon.

This year’s Justin Bridou U-18 European Championship takes place in Spain with Ireland drawn in the Elite group alongside England, Wales, France, Scotland, Italy, Georgia and Portugal.

Ireland won the tournament in France last year for the first time having previously reached two finals with the U-18 Club team.

The U-18 Schools, who beat a fancied England team by 17 – 8 to take the title in 2011, will play Portugal in Ciudad Universitaria in Madrid in their opening game on March 30th. The winner will progress to a semi final where they will face either France or Scotland.

Terry McMaster will coach the 26 man squad with the assistance of Paul Barr and Kenny Hooks.

Ireland U-18 Schools Squad (FIRA/AER U-18 European Championship, Madrid, March 29- April 8th)

Max  Abbott (PBC Cork/ Munster)

Benjamin Alexander (RBAI/ Ulster)

Shane  Boyle (Sligo GS/ Connacht)

Harrison Brewer (Terenure College/ Leinster)

William Dardis (Terenure College/ Leinster)

Shane Delahunt (Kilkenny College/ Leinster)

Dylan  Donnellan (Clongowes Wood College/ Leinster)

Josh Fullerton (CCB/ Ulster)

Bobby Holland (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)

David  Johnston (Rockwell College/ Munster)

Cian Kellerher (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)

Daniel Leavy (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)

Gearoid  Lyons (Crescent College/ Munster)

Rory Maloney (CC Roscrea/ Connacht)

Eoghan McKeever (CBC Monkstown/ Leinster)

Conor  McKeon (Gonzaga/ Leinster)

Saba  Meunargia (Marist College/ Connacht)

Ross Molony (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)

Sean  O’Brien (CC Roscrea/ Connacht)

Cormac  O’Donnell (St Munchins/ Munster)

Ruairi O’Farrell (Blackrock College/ Leinster)

Jack  O’Neill (Castleknock College/ Leinster)

Gregory O’Shea (Crescent College/ Munster)

Rory O’Loughlin (St. Michaels College/ Leinster)

Charlie  Slowey (CBC Cork/ Munster)

Peadar Timmins (Clongowes Wood College/ Leinster)

Ireland U-18 Schools Management

Terry McMaster – Head Coach

Paul Barr – Assistant Coach

Kenny Hooks – Assistant Coach

John McKinney – Team Manager

Chris Shield – Fitness Coach

Ozzie Fogarty – Team Doctor

David Lyons – Team Physio

Vinny Hammond – Team Analyst

Nicola Lyons – Team Co-ordinator

John Moran – Team Assistant

Walker steps up for England Sevens in Hong Kong

Posted on Mar 21, 2012 in England Sevens, English Rugby, Sevens

Harlequins centre Charlie Walker’s feet have finally touched the ground in Hong Kong as he steps straight from the Under 20 Six Nations into the HSBC Sevens World Series with England.

The 19 year old from Leicestershire helped England beat Ireland 20-9 at London Wasps last Friday night – securing a second title in a row for Rob Hunter’s side – and was heading for Heathrow and the Far East the following day.

He is likely to make his international sevens debut at some point during the March 23-25 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, where Argentina, Kenya and Samoa are England’s Pool A rivals.

England are fourth in the overall series, 18 points behind leaders New Zealand, and looking to cut back that advantage this weekend before the global tour heads for the Japan Sevens in Tokyo (March 31-April 1).

“We got the win [against Ireland] and the goal we set out to do at the start of the season which was to win the Six Nations so there was a great buzz, then on Saturday I was off to Hong Kong, so it was a pretty hectic weekend but it’s awesome to be here,” said Walker.

“Rob Hunter and Nick Walshe had pulled me aside one lunchtime and said ‘after Ireland you’ll be flying to Hong Kong to join the England Sevens boys’. I didn’t know what to say, particularly because it’s Hong Kong and it’s one of the biggest tournaments with one of the biggest followings.

“Definitely as a younger player looking to get better you’ve got to play in front of big crowds, that’s the way you’re going to get experience and with that comes confidence and learning how you improve yourself as a player, so for me it should be a great opportunity and something to relish.

“From what I’ve heard this is the big one, the one you want to go to. We’ve been into town and down to the markets to see what Hong Kong is about. It’s an unreal place and I’m really looking forward to it."

Walker, a 100m track finalist at the English Schools Athletics Association championships, has plenty of pace as well as the ability to make and take tries, touching down three times in the Six Nations campaign.

He has to familiarise himself with England’s systems inside a week, though, and teammates are helping him get to grips with the changes.

“It’s hard to get up to speed and coming into it you can tell the difference [t0 15s] because they’re such a small squad and they’re a lot tighter and closer together,” he said.

“Luckily some of the moves and calls are the same as England Under 20s so that’s quite easy to pick up, but most of the guys have taken me through the moves to show me what I need to do in attack and defence, and how we’re going to play.”